As Walmart Canada’s business grows – especially with grocery and e-commerce picking up significant momentum – Walmart will not compromise on offering the everyday low prices customers trust – both online and in-store.
The investment will also create hundreds of Canadian construction jobs and forge new partnerships with Canadian technology companies.
Reinvented, modernized “stores of the future”:
Renovating over 150 stores over the next three years – over one-third of the store network
New investments are in addition to over $1 billion invested into remodeling and opening stores over the past five years
Accelerating digitization to create “smarter stores”, including:
Expanded electronic shelf labels, shelf scanners to monitor product volumes, robotics and computer vision cameras to simplify, minimize touches and maximize efficiency and accuracy
A new checkout experience to reduce touchpoints, including tap-to-pay, new bigger self-checkout and “Check Out With Me” mobile payment technology to allow associates to checkout customers anywhere in the store
Accelerating the omni offering for customers and creating thousands of new omni associate jobs
Expanding the full “Walmart Pickup” offering to approximately 270 stores – or 70% of locations – by end of 2020
Piloting “hybrid locations” – supercentres with “micro fulfilment centres” in their backroom to increase the speed of fulfilment for pickup and delivery
Investing in new technology to:
Accelerate the pickup experience, including advanced notification
Improve our fulfilment centre operations to increase speed and trackability.
Investing $1.1B to build two new distribution centres and renovating an existing distribution centre creating hundreds of construction jobs:
Vaughan, ON: A next generation 550,000 square foot distribution centre at 11110 Jane Street (400 Highway and Teston Road) slated to open in 2024:
The facility will leverage next generation automation and technology working with Vanderlande
Surrey, BC: New 300,000 square foot distribution centre currently under construction at 19500 26th Ave slated to open in 2022:
Working with Witron on the site’s distribution logistics technology
Cornwall, ON: New automated systems in an existing distribution centre to manage apparel, health and beauty, and other small general merchandise items slated to go live in early 2021:
The systems will feature machine learning, Cobot Technology which can work in concert with associates to improve the accuracy and efficiency of operations
Ramping up capacity in its distribution centre system through new leading-edge technologies:
New next generation warehouse management systems which are omni capable in meeting the future needs of both physical stores and e-commerce
Investing in telematics and “internet of things” sensors across over 2,200 trailers to give real-time information around the quality and freshness of its deliveries
Launching world-leading artificial intelligence software in partnership with o9 to more accurately predict and better plan volume to ensure Walmart’s customers get what they want, when they want
Scaling the blockchain transportation payments platform with Toronto based DLT Labs – the world’s biggest blockchain solution for transportation payments system
Using new machine learning training software to support improved training and safety on the front lines of our distribution centre and fleet operations with Axonify, a Waterloo based micro-frontline learning company.
Quotes:
“Millions of customers choose to shop with us in-store and online every day – and that’s a tremendous honour,” said Horacio Barbeito, President and CEO, Walmart Canada. “Today’s significant investment will position us for future growth and make Walmart Canada even better for our associates and our customers. We are doubling down on our focus on the customer experience – not just to keep up but to lead and to be the very best in Canada.”
“We need to do everything we can to delight our customer every single time they choose to shop with us, whether it’s online or in the store. We’re challenging ourselves to be better and be relentlessly focused on excellent omni customer service and experience,” said Sam Wankowski, Chief Operations Officer, Walmart Canada. “This means better stores, quicker service and doing what Walmart does best – focusing on customers, always at Walmart’s everyday low prices.”
“The retail business is as dynamic as ever and this investment ensures we’re developing a supply chain that is the envy of the world. The better the supply chain, the quicker our customers can get the products they want. This investment will transform our supply chain and create hundreds of Canadian construction jobs along the way,” said John Bayliss, Senior Vice President, Logistics and Supply Chain, Walmart Canada.
About Walmart Canada:
Walmart Canada operates a growing chain of more than 400 stores nationwide serving more than 1.2 million customers each day. Walmart Canada’s flagship online store, Walmart.ca is visited by more than 900,000 customers daily. With more than 90,000 associates, Walmart Canada is one of Canada’s largest employers and is ranked one of the country’s top 10 most influential brands. Walmart Canada’s extensive philanthropy program is focused on supporting Canadian families in need, and since 1994 Walmart Canada has raised and donated more than $400 million to Canadian charities. Additional information can be found at walmartcanada.ca, facebook.com/walmartcanada and at twitter.com/walmartcanada.
SOURCE Walmart Canada
For further information: For media inquiries: Adam Grachnik, [email protected], 437-237-3497
NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Tesla soared Wednesday as investors bet that the electric vehicle maker and its CEO Elon Musk will benefit from Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Tesla stands to make significant gains under a Trump administration with the threat of diminished subsidies for alternative energy and electric vehicles doing the most harm to smaller competitors. Trump’s plans for extensive tariffs on Chinese imports make it less likely that Chinese EVs will be sold in bulk in the U.S. anytime soon.
“Tesla has the scale and scope that is unmatched,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, in a note to investors. “This dynamic could give Musk and Tesla a clear competitive advantage in a non-EV subsidy environment, coupled by likely higher China tariffs that would continue to push away cheaper Chinese EV players.”
Tesla shares jumped 14.8% Wednesday while shares of rival electric vehicle makers tumbled. Nio, based in Shanghai, fell 5.3%. Shares of electric truck maker Rivian dropped 8.3% and Lucid Group fell 5.3%.
Tesla dominates sales of electric vehicles in the U.S, with 48.9% in market share through the middle of 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Subsidies for clean energy are part of the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022. It included tax credits for manufacturing, along with tax credits for consumers of electric vehicles.
Musk was one of Trump’s biggest donors, spending at least $119 million mobilizing Trump’s supporters to back the Republican nominee. He also pledged to give away $1 million a day to voters signing a petition for his political action committee.
In some ways, it has been a rocky year for Tesla, with sales and profit declining through the first half of the year. Profit did rise 17.3% in the third quarter.
The U.S. opened an investigation into the company’s “Full Self-Driving” system after reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian. The investigation covers roughly 2.4 million Teslas from the 2016 through 2024 model years.
And investors sent company shares tumbling last month after Tesla unveiled its long-awaited robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night, seeing not much progress at Tesla on autonomous vehicles while other companies have been making notable progress.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.
The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.
The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.
